North Korean FM Says Explosion Was Demolition Blast

SEOUL, Sept 13 (AFP) - North Korea`s foreign minister said Monday that a huge explosion in the country`s remote interior that triggered fears of a nuclear test was a harmless demolition blast linked to a hydro-electric power project.
The comment by Foreign Minister Paek Nam-Sun was Pyongyang`s first response to weekend reports of a huge blast last Thursday that sparked jitters throughout the international community.
A diplomat in Pyongyang told AFP that the Stalinist country had even invited foreign diplomats to inspect the site of the explosion.
"The ministry of foreign affairs have given an explanation, which is that it was a deliberate blast of a mountain, and that it was in order to start some work on some hydroelectric plant," said the diplomat.
"The foreign ministry told us that we will be allowed to visit the site very soon."
Earlier, the South Korean government and US Secretary of State Colin Powell had dismissed speculation that nuclear testing had taken place.
Paek said the explosion was part of a project to demolish a mountain and make way for a massive hydro-electric plant, the BBC reported from the North Korean capital on its website.
The North Korean minister was answering a request for an explanation of the blast from junior British foreign minister Bill Rammell, who is on a three-day visit to the Stalinist state.
South Korea`s Yonhap news agency first reported the explosion on Sunday, quoting diplomatic sources as saying it triggered a mushroom cloud across a remote and mountainous area of North Korea on Thursday.
Officials in Seoul said satellite photos showed a "peculiar-shaped" cloud over the area.
Yonhap said the explosion appeared to be stronger than an April 22 rail blast which killed more than 150 people near the border with China.
According to the news agency the blast occurred in Kimhyungjik county in the province of Ryanggang near the Chinese border on the day when North Korea marked the 56th anniversary of its founding.
The area is home to an underground base for missiles and a suspected plant for enriching uranium, according to experts.
After meeting Paek who explained the blast on Monday, Rammell -- the first British minister to visit North Korea -- urged Pyongyang to allow diplomats to inspect the scene, the BBC reported.
North Korea`s decision to accept Rammell`s request was also reported by Britain`s domestic Press Association news agency.
Rammell was quoted as saying: "Having asked the vice foreign minister (Kim Gye-Gwan) this morning for our ambassador and other ambassadors to be allowed to visit the scene of the explosion I am very pleased the North Koreans have agreed to the request."
Earlier, the Chinese news agency Xinhua also quoted an unidentified North Korean official as also saying the blast was part of a power plant project in line with Paek`s accounts.
However, questions remained about what actually happened in the remote mountains despite the North`s explanation.
South Korea`s Minister of Unification Chung Dong-Young, responsible for Seoul`s relations with Pyongyang, told a parliamentary hearing that he would seek to verify the explanation for the blast given to Rammell by Paek.
"A careful review will be given to see if the (blasting) area is for constructing a hydro-power plant," Chung said.
Experts noted that five months ago a ground-breaking ceremony took place in the province, close to the area where the explosion was reported, for the construction of a massive hydro-electric power project initiated by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il himself.
A report on the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) at the time said Prime Minister Pak Pong-Ju and top dignitaries attended the elaborate ceremony for the project that was to include the construction of a dam, a power plant and a "large" reservoir.
US Secretary of State Powell said Sunday that North Korea knew it would be a mistake to test a nuclear device amid heightened diplomatic efforts to resolve the 23-month standoff over Pyongyang`s nuclear weapons drive.
Consultations are underway to convene a new round of six-party talks involving the United States, Russia, Japan, China and the two Koreas before the end of this month.
North Korea has one or two nuclear devices and may have added several more since the nuclear standoff erupted, according top US officials.
But speaking of a nuclear test, Powell said on "Fox News Sunday" that the North Koreans "know that this would not be a sensible step for them to take ..."